Khayri McLean murder: Dying teen lay in mother's arms as she begged him to 'hold on' till girlfriend arrived
WEST YORKSHIRE, UK: Huddersfield police have opened a murder inquiry after the 15-year-old Khayri McLean was fatally stabbed as he left his school on Wednesday, Sept 21, at approximately 2.50 pm. According to witnesses, the grieving mother of the stabbed 15-year-old boy cradled his body as he lay dying on the street.
When Khayri McLean, 15, left North Huddersfield Trust School on Wednesday, he texted his girlfriend Shyana James, 16, to say he had a wonderful day and was walking down to meet her. But a masked assailant repeatedly stabbed him as he was leaving the school gates in Huddersfield. He was rushed by ambulance to the Major Trauma Unit at Leeds General Infirmary, but later that day he died because of his severe wounds.
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Parents in shock after teen pinned down and repeatedly stabbed to death outside his school gate
Speaking on Thursday, Khayri's devastated girlfriend described how she arrived at the site in a cab after calling for help and discovered Khayri laying on the ground dying with his mother Marcia at his side. She disclosed that he had even given her a Snapchat photo of the location just before he was tragically stabbed.
Speaking at the scene of the gruesome crime, while wearing Khayri's coat, she sobbed: “He was the love of my life. We were talking about our future the other day. He was just the best person I knew. The last thing he said was I can’t wait to see you. He just told me how his day had been, he just said, ‘it’s been really good,’ and sent me a picture of him walking home, right by the bollards where he was killed. He would do anything for me, he would drop everything if I had something going on to be there.”
Shyana was friends with Khayri in school but had since transferred to a different university in the city. She reported getting a call from a friend saying she had seen him injured outside the school. When she arrived at the site in a cab, she noticed that the paramedics and ambulance were gathered around the man who was laying on the pavement. Sherrin James, Shyana's 35-year-old mother, and Khayri's upset mother had already arrived at the scene.
Mrs James, a home carer, broke down as she said: “My daughter rang me to say her friend had seen him hurt and bleeding bad. I came straight to the scene, his mum was here with some of the teachers. I got on the floor with them and was holding his hand, it was really scary." Mrs James said they were trying to make him pull through, "telling him to wait for Shyana."
Doctors were unable to rescue him, according to Mrs James, who claimed she and her daughter accompanied the ambulance to Leeds General Infirmary. Referring to the young couple, Mrs James added: “For six months they have been inseparable. The boy had a heart of gold, he would do anything for his loved ones. Shyana adored him, he was her first proper boyfriend. He was at my house every day, he was a lovely boy, he smiled so much.”
Asked about what she thought of those who carry knives, Shyana said: “I hate it and Khayri hated it as well.’ But she added: “It's getting worse around here, they are getting innocent people. It’s horrible. It’s disgusting, I’ve also got a son that goes to the school and he is scared. We have no idea what’s provoked this...he was the perfect boy...We’re at a loss to understand why it’s happened. We just do not know."
Khayri's mother, Marcia, sobbed as she stood where her son had been savagely attacked less than twenty-four hours earlier. A 16-year-old kid was detained by West Yorkshire Police early on Thursday morning after a murder investigation into Khayri's death was opened. At 5 am, the kid was taken into custody on suspicion of murder at a home in Huddersfield's Bradley neighborhood. While being questioned by authorities about the event, he remains in detention. Additionally, police said they had detained a 15-year-old child in connection with the homicide in a later update on Thursday afternoon.
West Yorkshire Police said in a statement that the 15-year-old child was remained in custody but did not say what he had been detained on suspicion of. The statement said: “Police investigating the murder of 15-year-old Khayri Mclean in Huddersfield have arrested a second youth in connection with the incident. The 15-year-old male was arrested yesterday and is currently in custody. A 16-year-old male who was arrested yesterday also remains in custody. Officers from West Yorkshire Police’s homicide and major enquiry team (HMET) are continuing to conduct enquiries into the death of Khayri, who died after being stabbed on Woodhouse Hill, Huddersfield, on Wednesday.” Returning to the site on Thursday, tearful children reported seeing two hooded people waiting outside the school gates just before seeing Khayri being brutally stabbed.